Rumors
by Patricia de Lioncourt
Summary: Sequel Companion to Impressions. During an attack, D hears that he, apparently, is being hunted...


A/N- Okay, so this is the next in a series of one-shots that are Vampire Hunter D and Castlevania crossovers. I didn't originally plan to do a series for this, but after I wrote "Impressions," I really loved the atmosphere I created (and Slinky, my plot bunny/demon, prodded me in the right direction). So, what all this means, is (if you read my profile to try and keep up with my stories, which the list is near the bottom…keep scrolling, I promise you'll reach it) that "Impressions" will be moved up to the section entitled "One-Shot/Drabbles Series." Okay, on with the story.

Disclaimer- I don't own Castlevania or any related character. It all belongs to Konami. I also don't own Vampire Hunter D or any related character. It all belongs to Hideyuki Kikuchi and Urban Vision.

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**Rumors**

D landed, sliding on the ground with his sword still drawn. He was upright in a crouch and still facing his attacker. The dhampire looked barely bothered by the fight he had been engaged in for at least fifteen minutes now. However, the attacker—a pale, dark-haired man, with some sort of monster heritage—was panting hard. He was cut in several places, bleeding in streams of unnatural black blood that looked more like sludge than blood. His clothes, ragged and slightly padded fighter clothes, were nearly in tatters above his waist and below his knees.

D stood, poised and ready. The attacker shook his head, sending his long spiky hair waving. His arms were still up, his hands in fists, and ready to defend himself in case D made the next move. However, the dark-haired dhampire simply stood there, sword gleaming in the full moon's light and his black traveler's cloak encircling him.

"You…" panted the attacker, "are the…vampire hunter…known as…D, aren't…you?"

D gave no answer, ever the silent one. However, the man's amber-red eyes gleamed with an evil light.

"You are!" he said, finally catching his breath. "I've heard of your strength and your beauty. You're the reason my brother is dead!"

"I've killed many," D replied evenly.

D advanced, leaping into the air. He brought his sword down, and the attacker managed to just move out of the way in time. He shook his head, now in a crouch that was similar to D's former stance.

"You didn't kill him," the man spat.

D gave a millisecond's pause at this. However, he was moving once again. He could not let this attacker, whom had tried to ambush him in the forest they now currently occupied, get a jump on him. He brought his sword across horizontally, once again catching nothing but air. Still, the man did not pick back up his attack.

"The man who killed my brother was looking, hunting, for you!" he hissed.

Now, D stopped. The dhampire was used to being attacked…but he had never, exactly, been hunted. He held his sword upward now, aimed for the main's tender throat.

"Who was it that killed your brother?" he asked, in a tone more demanding than most had ever heard D's voice.

"Another damn dhampire, like you."

The man stood now, still tense and ready for attack, but made no move of his own. D still had his sword poised.

"That tells me nothing," D said evenly, only the slightest hint of annoyance.

"He was a lot like you. Same facial features, but fairer. He had long, white-blond hair. Bet you two had the same vampire father."

D's grip around his hilt tightened. Another son of Dracula? Impossible…he had been his father's only success…

"What does this dhampire want with me?" D asked, his voice even once again.

The attacker snarled. "Don't know, you bastard. I didn't exactly ask as he was cutting my brother's damn head off!"

The attacker lunged at D, a set of jagged, pointed teeth bared at him. The dhampire dodged, turning back to face the man as he landed.

"Why didn't you destroy him?" D inquired.

The attacker paused. He blinked, a mixture of anger and an odd sadness in his eyes. Finally, he growled.

"I…I couldn't beat him. His fighting was…unreal…he was too strong. I ran," he snapped out.

D nodded, stepping forth. He backed the attacker against a tree and placed the tip of his sword right at his throat. The man glared, but said nothing.

"Why did you attack me? Did this other dhampire send you?" D asked.

"No!" the man all but shouted. "No, he didn't. I…"

"You wanted vengeance for your brother's death…and thought I would be easier to defeat."

D sheathed his sword.

"Go," the dhampire said, turning away. "Don't throw away your life on foolish pursuits."

There was silence as D walked a few paces away. He whistled for his black cyborg horse, the animal trotting immediately out to meet him. However, a crunching of leaves and a cry of anger caused D to turn, sword drawn. His sweep cut the attacker—who had leapt from the tree to D—horizontal across his torso. With blood gargling and some odd choking noises, the two halves slipped from one another. The man moved no more.

D flicked the blood from his sword and sheathed it once more. He put his back to the corpse, his thoughts far away and focused on the mysterious dhampire hunting him. Dracula, his father, had had another success? There was another son of the Sacred Ancestor? This thought disturbed him greatly. He mounted his cyborg horse and kicked off.

Well, if this hunter wanted him, then he was going to have to find him first.

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End Notes: Okay, shorter than "Impressions," but it's all that was needed. Now, I'll be doing a third of these called "Meetings." I might do more after that, but I have none planned right now. I probably will end up doing one or two more after "Meetings," they're just not named yet. Also, I incorporated a lot more from the books in this one…but nothing that someone who had not read the novels would not understand. Well, please review!


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